Paul

His Story

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Paul

His Story

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Description

For someone who has exercised such a profound influence on Christian theology, Paul remains a shadowy figure behind the barrier of his complicated and difficult biblical letters. Debates about his meaning have deflected attention from his personality, yet his personality is an important key to understanding his theological ideas. This book redresses the balance. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's disciplined imagination, nourished by a lifetime of research, shapes numerous textual, historical, and archaeological details into a colourful and enjoyable story of which Paul is the flawed but undefeated hero. This chronological narrative offers new insights into Paul's intellectual, emotional, and religious development and puts his travels, mission, and theological ideas into a plausible biographical context. As he changes from an assimilated Jewish teenager in Tarsus to a competitive Pharisee in Jerusalem and then to a driven missionary of Christ, the sometimes contradictory components of Paul's complex personality emerge from the way he interacts with people and problems. His theology was forged in dialogue and becomes more intelligible as our appreciation of his person deepens. In Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's engaging biography, the Apostle comes to life as a complex, intensely human individual.

Paul

His Story

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Table of Contents

1. The Early Years2. Conversion and its Consequences3. Apprenticeship in Antioch4. A Journey into Europe5. South to Achaia6. Antioch and Jerusalem7. The First Year in Ephesus8. The Second Year in Ephesus9. Conversations with Corinth10. Macedonia and Illyricum11. Farewell to the East12. The Final Years

Paul

His Story

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Author Information

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor is Professor of New Testament at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française, Jerusalem.